Hanchart Land

by Becky Barker

Luke Hanchart proposed a marriage-of-convenience to Susan, his cousin's widow, to protect his family's ranch. Little did he know that saying "I do," would open the door to a tempestuous future. Now nothing stood in the way of a passion that had smoldered between them. As they sealed their union with a kiss, a spark ignited and began to burn.

Genres: Romance, Westerns, Contemporary Romance, Western Romance, Contemporary, Ebooks, Novella

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 1997

About the author

Becky Barker is an Amazon bestselling, award-winning romance author whose books have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages, published in large print library editions and in many electronic formats. She makes her home in central Ohio where she's surrounded by a big, close-knit family.

Sign up for Becky's newsletter or email her at: write@BeckyBarker.com

Reviews

[SheLove2Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shades of Diana Palmer!

This was a freebie and not being familiar with the author, I went into this with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. This is a contemporary western, marriage of convenience story with two characters who are meant to be together, even if they both need a good knock upside of their heads. I gave the nod to Diana Palmer because the hero sooooo reminds me of DP's bastard, arrogant, ego trip males. Not quite as bad but definitely in the same realm. The heroine had secrets of course, and a lot could have been avoided if she'd have just quit being a martyr and fessed up. Of course that would have cut out half the story. I would have liked it to be a little longer than 112 pages but for the length, this wasn't bad. If you enjoy arrogant males who are hiding their true feelings, and long suffering females who will take a secret to the grave, you should enjoy this one. ;-)

B/B+

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mmmm shades of Diana Palmer it is but thankfully that’s all it is. DP made too many of her male characters out to be such emotionally abusive A-holes they became irredeemable in my eyes and the female characters reduced to blithering wimps without a mind of their own that I completely lost interest and while I wanted to seriously rattle Luke at times, the author did a great job of letting the reader into his mind and his motivations I understood where he was coming from and he hadn’t pushed the boundaries so far he became just another DP clone. His was a motivation of thwarted love, anger, betrayal, jealousy, frustration and confusion but not deliberate cruelty.

Powerful and wealthy rancher Luke Hanchart had just started dating Susan when his vindictive cousin Shane stole her from under his nose and married her. For two years Luke listened to his cousin extolling Susan’s insatiable performances in bed and he couldn’t deny the evidence before his eyes on the rare occasions they were seen out together. They seemed genuinely happy and Luke was forced to wall off his jealousy, his anger, the insecurity of rejection and his deepest yearnings.

No one knew of the real trauma of Susan’s marriage to Shane, they’re shameful secrets she will take to her grave. When he dies Susan is relieved she can finally breathe again. Shane leaves her his portion of Hanchart land that she’s forced to sell to an outsider to pay off his mountain of debts. It’s this stipulation in Shane’s will that brings her in the direct firing line of a wrathful Luke, hell bent on keeping Hanchart land under Hanchart control, by any means necessary. Shane had underestimated Luke’s determination and his persuasive powers. Susan finally agrees to marry Luke but he has a few stipulations of his own that will make it increasingly difficult to keep the truth from him. A marriage of convenience with an heir in mind brings them in such close proximity Susan is eventually forced to reveal her secrets into a relationship that is still fragile. Communication breaks down, Luke withdraws and Susan takes the blame on herself trying to appease Luke the only way she knows how but the cost to herself will eventually force Susan to make a decision of her own and Luke to finally reveal truths that will break your heart.

What is coToning? There were a number of mistakes like this and they seriously did cause a bump in an otherwise smooth ride.

I liked it.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan is now a widow and deeply in debt due to her deceased husband, Shane's gambling problems. But because of her husband's will she cannot sell his property to his family. Shane's cousin, Luke Hanchart has an idea that would fix the problem. They could get married and he would pay off the debts and she would have a place to live, etc.

Luke never understood the reason Susan married his cousin. Susan knows she will have to tell him. Family secrets revealed.

An older book by Ms. Barker. It was okay but Luke was a jerk and Susan a bit wimpy.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this for free on my kindle. I really liked it. I bought the premise, misunderstanding, and resolution, for the most part. I liked the author's writing style and will look for more from her in the future.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Becky Barker's books are filled with love, family and loyalty. They have stories that are engaging with characters that you come to adore. Hanchart Land is the exception as I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and disappointment in Luke. He has always been a little in love with Susan, they had even dated, but all of a sudden she up and married his cousin, Shane. This was very strange because she had always favored Luke, but she felt she had no choice because Shane was blackmailing her to expose her brother's crimes. That is probably the weakest reason for blackmail I've ever encountered, and it gave a sense of unbelievability to the book. If that's not bad enough, she reveals to Luke that Shane raped her and offered her up to his friends! After Shane's death, Luke is concerned about the fact that Shane left his land to her in his will. He can't allow Hanchart land to go to anyone outside the family, so he asks her to marry him. Susan wants to marry for love this time, but she does have deep feelings for him so she says she will. This is where the story began to unravel and I came to dislike Luke and wonder where Susan's backbone had gone. When Susan tells Luke the truth of her marriage, he's rightfully shocked but then he gets angry. Why didn't she tell him that she had been raped? He even questions her with a fair amount of scepticism, and the only thing I could think was that he wasn't sure if she was telling him the truth. Shameful! Since their wedding night is the only time she's ever been "intimate," she's almost virginal and the act is uncomfortable. What does Shane do? He remembers that Shane told him she was a beast in bed, he's wondering if Susan is even telling him the truth. Why would Shane lie? If that weren't enough, every single time they make love, he has doubts and wonders if she's faking her feelings. He's dismissive, angry and when she tells him she loves him, he turns around and walks away. At the end, she finally gets the backbone to walk away, but he throws an "I love you," and she caves. With seven minutes left, he says something caring and that's the end. A romance should never leave you depressed, but this one did. Johnny Peppers does a great job with the narration, which is quite the feat when he can make a dreadful story enjoyable. 

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically, it's not a bad little romance. Rather well written, though short and conventional. However, reading this in 2017 brings absolutely nothing to the genre, and so many of the values displayed felt so dated and problematic to me that I am not willing to give it more than a 2.5 rating. The "mystery" and subsequent revelation were equally disappointing--it sounded as if the author herself knew them to make little sense, yet went through with the bad plot point anyway.
Also the ebook's quality is quite poor.

[DEBORAH LINCOLN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet

This read was focused within about a month’s time frame .. old flames separated with no explanation to him .. personal betrayals ... naive personalities .. poor communication .. never stopped loving each other .. fate brings them back together .. good chemistry between characters .. strong personalities.. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

[SANDYE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantic and Fast-paced

Great characters. Steamy sex. Love. Betrayal. Blackmail. Rekindled love. Family. Drama. A great read I couldn't put down!! Will definitely look for more books by Becky Barker!

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha chart land

Just loved this book.the small country of small towns with ,love despair and forgiveness makes a great story,even with the tears they shed.

[cheryl doerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I loved this book. I liked Susan tightness. I would recommend this book to everyone. Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story. Was a little put off that it took so long for her to tell him all of the truth.

[Ferbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure surprise. when I just started listening, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep going but as it go along it go more interesting. I enjoyed the story in the end and I'm happy I continued. Good narration too.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this audiobook quite a bit. It's not the first Becky Barker book I've listened to and it won't be the last. This book is a second chance romance that has lots of family involvement (which isn't always good). The lives of the main characters are not always smooth and the marriage is complicated by secrets.
The setting was great, the plot interesting and the narration was great. Other reviewers mentioned not having other characters explained, but I didn't have a problem with that, so you might want to read some of the earlier books first. Very enjoyable.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always disappointing to find a book that is really good but is marred by poor editing. This is a love story of a man who *should* have proposed when he didn't and watched his woman get married to a cousin. A cousin who bragged about her (in all the wrong ways). Cousin dies. Yeah! Leaves woman with tons of debt. And Luke proposes as a way to save his land (thus the title) as well as the fact that he still loved her.

In a way this is all standard fare with a good amount of you-know-what thrown in. Really didn't need all those scenes. I'd rather seen side characters stories introduced rather than one more time in the sack.

Still not a bad story. The editing though -- PLEASE! These are not just a typos. These are sloppy.


expToning when you meant exploring
fTonist's when you meant florist's
Double quotes without a beginning quote.


Yes -- I'm tough on editing. Because I have done preliminary editing for technical books as well as novels. The first two would EASILY have been caught with any number of editing techniques. And should have been. The last -- a good editor should have seen this.

BTW -- if you put each person's comment on a new line, it is easier for the reader to follow AND easier on you to pick up these kinds of errors.

Ms. Barker writes well -- but attention to detail is what moves you from a good writer to a REALLY good writer.

Also the cover doesn't really convey the story. Ergo, I'm suspecting a self-published book. This cover looks like a "typical western" book rather than a romance book. Imagine a cover of a man on a horse overlooking his ranch. And on the porch stands a beautiful woman. That says romance western style. All of this is MHO, OC.

This book was a freebie on Amazon.com.

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan married Shane as he blackmailed her into marriage. For 2 years she suffered as it was a delusional marriage. After Shane had passed away he still haunted her from the grave. In his will he said his land could not go to his family. Susan packed up her things into the moving van and was about to leave with a rider came down the road. She knew who it was, Luke, Shane's older cousin. After discussing again why she could not sell the land to him they went up to the barn to say goodbye to the horses she worked with. Luke offered a new solution to her problem. They would get married, the land could stay in the hands if the family and they could start their own family.

Three years before Shane came along Luke and Susan had a relationship and started getting close. Her parents passed away and Luke was there to help her along with her grief. Luke was hurt when Susan married Shane and couldn't understand why. Can Susan tell him the truth and their marriage survive?

I enjoyed reading the story Luke trying to be rough as his heart was broken so long ago by the same woman he wants to marry. Susan i her weak state and didn't know what to do. Luke and Susan were great together after everything came out and or worked out. Yes, some things were repetitive, but overall for me it did not take from the story it was a nice read. The setting in Texas was about par for the course. The family working together ( some of the family ) was a nice change.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Hanchart’s husband died suddenly leaving her with a huge amount of debt, the land they lived on, and memories of a marriage she never wanted to think about again. All she needs is enough money to pay the bills and move to another town so she can move on with her life. But Shane had a stipulation in the will that states she could not sell the land to anyone in his family. She has a secret that will destroy the Hanchart family if they ever found out. How can she make things right for his family without breaking the will?

Luke Hanchart is Shane’s cousin, but the death of his cousin didn’t upset him one bit. The only thing he would not do was watch the family land be owned by someone else. Deciding the only way to get around the will and keep the land in the family was to marry his cousin’s widow. He cared for Susan once and watched her marry someone else, but he will not be married to her in name only. She must agree to a true marriage because there will be no divorce. His feelings are still strong for Susan, but is he willing to open his heart and let her in again?

[Lisa C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story concept was different and I liked the idea, but the whole thing felt rushed. I nearly stopped by ch. 4 because I felt I was missing something when several people were mentioned with no explanation of who they were. The characters weren't developed well at all and there were many simple spelling errors.

Susan was naive and constantly feeling sorry for herself. The reason she got married the first time was unbelievable. I liked Luke but he was distant and angry.

The first half felt like it was all about their bedroom activities. I didn't mind because they were well written, but maybe potential readers should know there are lots of steamy details. Three stars for the steamy sex and the sexy male lead.

[Tonileg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great example of married-then-fall-in-love scenario. This was a medium sized length story about the Hanchart family. The widow of Shane Hanchart is going to move away to Houston to start a new life because she has no more family in the area (both parents and brother died a few years before) so she wants and needs to make a new life with hopes that she could be happy one day. She is immediately thwarted by the hero... the rest evolves naturally for two people that have always loved each other but trauma and evil family members have kept them apart.
This was a freebie for kindle.
2 stars

[Elly Helcl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was absolutely a pleasurable, short, easy read. There were things that could have been explained better, a few minor editing details that would have been easy to smooth out...but all in all, a nice, easy, short book.

This has some awfully low reviews that almost convinced me NOT to read it...I am glad I didn't listen to those reviews. The book was a pretty typical romance book but it wasn't overly cheesy and it wasn't overly sweet.

Recommended for those who like books with very few antagonists. Most of the story revolved around the main characters figuring out their feelings for each other. Still a good read.

[Bukcrz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, the book has the making of a perfect read for me. Unfortunately the heroine who started out promising to be a strong character ended up a 'poor-is-me' kind of character. I understand all her family died but to throw a pity-party on every page of the book with the same issue over and over again became tiring. I really liked her at first when she showed some backbone but once the hero 'sort-of' made a decision for her the down hill started from there and she became just like a leaf blown by the wind that is the hero and the rest of the book's character.

[Gretchen Fatouros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable romance. Set in Texas...

You may get frustrated at the wording here and there. I've come to accept and maybe even expect issues with wording in most romance books I've read recently on my kindle. Many times you just need to add a word to make sense. But this one was bad with at least two nonsense words used & 2+ occurrences where "other" was used instead of 2 words like "of her"... Found it distracting! The publisher really should have caught that!

Overall, enjoyable story & a pretty quick read...

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love truly conquered all in this book. It was amazing what the hero and heroine had to overcome. The machinations of Shane were so extreme that it took a long time for all of his duplicities to come to light. This book is an amazing story of a love that will overcome all obstacles put in its way and bury them. I downloaded this book for free from Amazon and couldn’t wait to read it. I started it late last night and only put it down when I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. For my full review: http://wp.me/p3a6Qw-5Q

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. I Loved Susan and Luke. I didn't cry in this novel, but at times I did smile at some of the situations that happened. Luke is definitely someone I was fall for if he was directing his attentions at me. The only sticky parts were about the Situation between Susan and Shane. I'm not sure that she would be able to over come what happened to her during the marriage as quickly as she did to completely turn herself over to Luke, but I loved how they came toether anyway. Love knows no barriers in this novel.

[Meg Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading this book and it was phenomenal! I love the unique story line behind the romance between the main characters! And with the secret that Susan Hanchart knew that could totally ruin the Hanchart family added so much suspense! Great passionate love story that I think a lot of people can relate to when they get the opportunity to explore an unspoken connection that has been smoldering for years. You won't regret it, this is a great read!

- Meg Kline

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish we could give half stars - I would give this one 3.5! It isn't quite a 4 star. Oh well. The story revolves around a young woman who makes a lot of mistakes - because of love and guilt. When she is offered marriage she believes it might change her life. Well, it might.

The book was worth reading for the story - and the characters did draw me in. I just couldn't see this scenario really happening so it made it just a bit less engrossing.

[Sandra Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story you read when you. want. to read. about areal man

Luke isn't a pretty boy, playboy, or manwhore. He a strong, honest, cowboy who loves the way he works, Susan has lived through a nightmare loveless marriage, entered to protect her younger brother by blackmail. I've read this story three times. I read to reassure myself that the real men are still out there. Read this if you want to believe that love can last.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a Kindle freebie. I vascilated on whether I completely loved the hero or was frustrated with him for being so alpha and then not even trusting the heroine with his feelings. As for the heroine, I think she could have been a strong character but came off a bit weak for me. This is the first work I have read by this author and will check out more of her work.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and Becky Barker does a great job of telling a story of a lady who's husband died and now the land she owns is wanted by a couple of people, one being a relative of her dead husband. The relative proposes an idea of helping her. I won't say much more as I hate to ruin stories, but it's a good book to read.

[Darlene Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free book and I had never heard of the author. Had a pretty predictable story line. At least there was no premarital sex. Not too bad a short read. Not a book that would make me want to read it again in a few years.

[Marjie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, quick read

I knew how it would end before I started reading but it was still pleasurable to read and see how it all unfolded. Overall it is a happy, upbeat tale of love and romance.